Monday, June 28, 2010

Signed up for my first Triathlon today! The 24th Annual Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon

Today, I signed up for my first triathlon - the 24th Annual Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon, which is on July 7th at 6pm (a Wednesday in Connecticut, I will take the afternoon off).

Distances:  Half-mile lake swim (wetsuits allowed), 10.5-mile bike around the lake, 3.1-mile run.

I am excited for this race.  It is a USAT (USA Triathlon) sanctioned event, which my friends tell me means that it will likely be well run. 

Now I need to get ready, as the race is next week!  I need to get a wetsuit (will probably rent one with the option to buy it) and figure out how all the logistics (when to arrive, how to set up my bike and shoes in the transition area, how to get my bike in the car, etc.).  Everything is brand new to me, which is exciting!

I haven't been able to do an open water swim yet (although I have been swimming 2-3 days a week, usually for 1 mile, as I consider myself to be a weak swimmer).  Hopefully I can do one this weekend.  Otherwise, I'll just wing it next week.

I did an extremely hilly 52 mile bike ride yesterday, so I feel ready for the bike portion of the event.

When I created this blog earlier, I fully expected it to be only about my running.  I NEVER imagined doing a triathlon, as I consider myself to be a poor long distance swimmer (although I was a life guard in high school college and was able to swim short distances a little faster).  When I got certified as a lifeguard in high school, I had to swim 500 yards every day.  Despite being on the track team and being in pretty good "sprinting" shape then, I struggled with this distance everyday (and therefore hated it).  I would come out of the pool sweaty and exhausted!

Thanks to all of my friends that have been giving me a ton of advice on everything related to triathlons.  I appreciate you putting up with my detailed questions!  In fact, every single one of my friends that gave me advice, all said for me to start out with a sprint triathlon first (I wanted to start with an Olympic tri).

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